23rd December

Time to leave San Cristóbal and frankly I am glad. There is very little here except shop. I bought my secret santa present (an obsidian statue for Nok) and that was about it.

We left by private minibus en route for Palenque and it was due to last about 6 hours. I was looking forward to the 2 stop off for the day - the Agua Azul and Misol Ha Waterfalls - both of which feature in the film Predator with Arnie. The girls looked rough on the bus with another 4 am finish.

The waterfalls were very impressive and the water crystal clear but bloody freezing. After a quick dip in Agua Azul I spent the remaining 40 mins free time sun-bathing next to a woman with fake boobs. Sadly it was Sunday and therefore rammed with locals which wasn't conducive to relaxation but I'd take it over the bus any day. I'd been stuffing junk food on the bus so I skipped the lunch the others went for.

The Misol Ha waterfall was instantly recognisable from the aforementioned film and is the one Arnie falls down while being persued by the Predator. The lake below again was clear as tap water. I was hungry by now so had a cheese and ham sandwich and a cheeky Piña Colada. Shahela was hilarious - she had taken a travel sickness pill but looked as if she'd been dragged through a hedge. Hilary came and talked at me during my meal which wasn't fun so I consoled myself further with ice cream.

We arrived in Palenque at about 5 and made the short trip into the jungle where we will be staying 2 nights. The lodges were great, a bit downmarket from the ones in Perú but functional. It seems were were the only lodge not to have hot water but I am used to cold after 4 months of travelling in Latin America.

Had a Corona and read my recently acquired "Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal" (Harry Potter and the Philisopher's stone in Spanish). It was harder going than I thought but I now know "una lechuza" is an owl. Mikey has gone to the ruins were are going to tomorrow so I took the opportunity of having a snore-free siesta.

Had a great pizza for dinner and more beer. They put on live music and a fire show with some local hippies, in fact while I remember the whole place seems like a student union with soap-dodgers everywhere with their odd tobacco and their unwashed dreaded hair.

Had a strange encounter with a waiter. Transcript to follow in English.

Steve: Do you have any ice cream?
Waiter: Ice cream? Yes.
S: Which flavours? Do you have chocolate?
W: Yes....Ice cream?
S: Er, yes.
(Waiter brings glass full of white liquid and straw)
S: This is ice cream?
W: Yes.
(Steve tastes "drink". It is foul - bitter and watery)
S: Waiter, what is this? This isn't ice cream.
W: Yes, ice cream.
S: But I wanted ice cream with a spoon.
W: Oh, ice cream! I thought you wanted "tea with ice cream"
S: Why would I want that? Why would anyone want that. It is disgusting. Can I have just ice cream with a spoon please?
W: Oh, we don't do ice cream.

I stayed chatting with the girls until I could hack it no more - 12am.